Welcome to Sunday Reads on Refocuser, a collection of weekly links from around the web to help you do incredible things.  These links span topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, nutrition, and positivity.  I’m posting this on Saturday this time to make sure email subscribers get this on Sunday.

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High-Performance Work and Life

Fantastic post on the differences between a high-performer and a workaholic.  In my experience as someone who could maybe appear to be a workaholic from the outside, the conclusion rings true: “The big difference isn’t how many hours are logged, but how the individual feels on the inside about who they are in relationship to their work.”

When it comes to creativity, the “myth of epiphany” is commonplace.

An amazing episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast with Pavel Tsatsouline on the Science of Strength and the Art of Physical Performance.

A lack of exercise could be killing twice as many people as obesity in Europe, a 12-year study of more than 300,000 people suggests.  Ultimately this doesn’t matter much – you shouldn’t want to be obese or inactive – but if you’re already thin and still inactive, get moving.

A new study finds that just closing your eyes can help boost memory recall.

We’re naturally bad listeners, even with loved ones.  Practicing active listening, which sounds a lot like mindfulness, could help improve your relationships at work and home.

Having trouble getting stuff done?  Some great tips from the Nectar Collective that help can get you unstuck.  My single biggest hack to start a project is to make sure you have a block of time allocated on your calendar to start ONLY that task; nothing else.  Then the rest of this applies.  But if you don’t make the time, it simply won’t “just happen”.

Food for Fuel

From the American Heart Association, “individuals on a moderate-fat diet who ate an avocado every day had lower bad cholesterol than those on a similar diet without an avocado a day or on a lower-fat diet.”  I don’t eat one every day, but I do have about four per week.

People drink diet soda because they believe it’s healthier than regular soda.  New research shows that there’s a “profound increased risk for diabetes in those consuming artificially sweetened drinks”. Numerous other studies on this have found the same (like this one which found that overweight people who drink diet soda consistently overate compared to overweight people who didn’t) and the bottom line is: avoid ALL sodas if you want to be healthy.

Just one night of binge drinking affects the immune system, and it can happen within just 20 minutes of ingesting alcohol.

Mark Sisson breaks down some of the benefits of intermittent fasting including increased cognitive function   People think I’m crazy when I tell them I fast for 16 hours a couple of times per week, but I now better understand my relationship with hunger and don’t have to eat all the time.  Fasting for three days can also rejuvenate the entire immune system.

More on the microbiome: could the bacteria in our gut trigger Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Long-form Reads

I’m currently reading The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload and it’s a very readable and fun romp through the science of attention and organization.  Definitely recommended.

You can always follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading.

Random Musings

Plastic may have negative effects on the brain (even BPA-free) according to a new study from the University of Calgary.  I replaced my BPA-free plastic water bottles with Kleen Kanteens after reading this… it was the last straw.

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